<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Guardian Games by BraviaryScout</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24025126">Guardian Games</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BraviaryScout/pseuds/BraviaryScout'>BraviaryScout</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Destiny (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Competition, F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:08:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,062</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24025126</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BraviaryScout/pseuds/BraviaryScout</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Guardian Games have come to the Tower and Jadyn is ready to give it her all to prove the Hunters can outdo the Titans and Warlocks! All she has to do is convince her fellow hunters in her fireteam to join up, but how come they're not excited about this event? Original characters by NetRaptor used with permission.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Guardian Games</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello Guardians, here's a little story to go with the ongoing Guardian Games Olympics style event going on in Destiny 2! Thanks to NetRaptor for letting me use her character Maximilian Ross as a cameo.</p><p>Enjoy,<br/>Brav</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The fast catchy tune of Lord Shaxx’s new thing, Shaxxercise blared in Hunter Jadyn Amaris’ headphones as she rapidly twisted a medicine ball between her sides as she lay on a workout mat. While on a mission to help recover a lost weapon from the Vanguard vault, she had come across a previously undiscovered track that had some of Shaxx’s more famous lines along a beat that she dubbed Shaxxercise. Nobody knew the leak came from her and her ghost Solomon, but it suddenly became a Tower favorite during practice or just motivational in general.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Solomon piloted her spacious jumpship back into Tower airspace, hailing air traffic control and transmitting a proper squawk, already filing a clearance request to the hangar bay in the Tower North district.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Welcome back to the City.” The operator said as their vessel broke through the wall of the dense fog. “And best of luck on the Guardian Games.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Guardian Games? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jadyn thought to herself as she tossed the medicine ball back onto the small workout rack and quickly rolled up her workout mat. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What’s that all about?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not quite sure.” Solomon replied. “Storm said by the time we came back from our patrol on the Moon, there was going to be some sort of event going on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Let’s find out what it is.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take long for Jadyn to dock her ship and lock it in its bay. She tossed a wave to the shipwright on duty, the ever chipper Amanda Holliday before moving to the decontamination chambers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A mandate for any guardian returning to the City from an area that was confirmed of hive presence. Any area that was infested by the virulent race carried small particles and wormscent of seederships. While harmless on its own, the wormscent from the dust and shells that often lingered in the air caught onto the surface of a guardian’s armor and any particular hive tombship in the vicinity would home onto it like a signal. The last thing the City needed as an onslaught of hive invading.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jadyn didn’t particularly like using the decontamination showers anywhere, but it was Vanguard policy. So she entered the women’s side and stood underneath one of the heads, allowing a controlled drizzle of decontamination liquid to pour over her armor, foaming a grayish froth as it circled around the drain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She emerged, drying herself off with a disposable towel that was put in a bin where a frame would take it to be sterilized and dried for reuse again. The softer parts of her armor remained damp and uncomfortable, but thankfully the standard issue bodysuits issued to guardians were fast wicking and dried within twenty minutes. Solomon’s shell dripped with solution and she used a microfiber cloth to clean off the hive gunk stuck in his inner workings as well as give a polish to his shiny ivory colored shell. He twirled it in excitement and relief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m glad to be out of there.” He breathed. “Now should we head to the courtyard for debrief?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jadyn agreed and they headed towards “Zavala’s Perch” which was what the staff had nicknamed it as the Vanguard Commander was frequently found brooding at the balcony while looking out over the City.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was just a couple minutes on an elevator ride to the main hangar before she scrambled up some steps out into broad daylight. She had to do a double take upon seeing the Tower’s courtyard in a vastly different appearance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Normally it would have colorful banners with Festival of the Lost, Dawning or Solstice of Heroes decorations, but instead there were overhanging ribbons of red, yellow and blue with a triple blooming logo on long stretches that were laid out over the concrete. At the very center where the Dawning tree or Solstice statue would be placed were three large banners all in the same three colors she had seen all around the Tower. The red banner on the left had the Titan insignia, the center one was gold with the warlock symbol and finally on the right was the blue with the hunter’s sigil. Behind it was a large gold cauldron that held a symbolic roaring fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah Guardian Jadyn Amaris!” The hunter’s smile instantly grew upon recognition of the elderly woman’s voice as she found Eva Levante standing at the base of the three banners. Just in front was a curved wall, separated by small sockets for each banner side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eva!” She sidled up and gently embraced her in a hug, having to bend down to adjust for the shorter woman. “You’re back!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eva Levante smiled at her. Formerly an outfitter for Guardians using shader synths, she decided against opening her shop in the aftermath of the Red War and organized holidays and special events to keep morale boosted around the Tower. She was immensely popular amongst guardians who affectionately nicknamed her as “Grandma Eva”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That thought would never cross Jadyn’s mind. “I missed you since the Dawning!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know dear.” Eva said. “How did everyone like their treats from the oven?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They were all excited! I know you do the Traveler’s work in bringing a lot of Dawning cheer to everyone who could use some uplifting in these trying times.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everyone?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jadyn smiled and rolled her eyes at the same time. While Eva was definitely a Tower favorite, she was also known as one of the most up-to-date on guardian and ghost gossip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jadyn soon became one of her favorites.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that’s absolutely splendid! But this time we’re doing something a little more special and different, thanks to Zavala.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes yes. Welcome to the Guardian Games! A competition not only against yourself, but also against others! We have a wonderful trophy to see which type of guardian discipline performs the best!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Type?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course. The banners behind me,” she gestured to them. “Are there to signify which discipline is in the lead by medals turned in. Talk to the others like Shaxx, Zavala and even those stationed on the frontier to get medals and objectives to participate. Even that Drifter character has joined in on the fun! Once you’ve completed the requirements for the medals, you deposit them here in your respective discipline slot to help elevate all hunters! It’s a group effort!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A group effort? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jadyn’s thoughts went to her fellow hunters, seeing an abnormal absence of them despite the hunter banner well above the other two. As she watched, two titans headed up to the depository and slid their earned medals in, causing the red titan banner to rise up ever so slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you’re quite the competitor dear! Go and earn those medals! And I know your fellow hunters will be pleased to help you out!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t know about that.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jadyn’s fireteam had two other hunters, Ailsa and Marcus. And she didn’t even know if the others of Etalan, Storm and Cassius were getting an assignment outside the City to even partake in the games themselves. Their team leader had already posted a message across the team’s common message system, stating that while it was fine to compete, the duties and regular bounty assignments came first.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Certainly not Storm. He’s all caught up in that bureaucratic bullshit. </span>
  </em>
  <span>All while thinking, she had seen four more titans and a pair of warlocks come to deposit their medals. No hunters. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Plus I kind of don’t want titans to win anyway. Maybe Eva bribed them with a lifetime supply of crayons.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Jadyn managed to intercept Ailsa in the hangar an hour later after refreshing herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ailsa was an awoken hunter, a practitioner of the nightstalker discipline and one of the longer tenured members of the team. She was the same height with a slender build with her copper brown hair swept to the side with a braided fade that was popular among awoken women.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ailsa seldom stayed in the City, instead spending most of her time in the southeast section of the North American Republic where it was rumored that she managed to befriend both a small band of fallen and human settlers both living close by in relative peace. Ailsa preferred the wilderness and hunted game in her spare time, favoring bows and was an expert marksman with any sniper rifle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She guessed that was the hunter’s next destination.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Ailsa!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had also been one of the first on the team to warm up to Jadyn following her resurrection as a guardian.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jadyn.” The two hunters shared a hug. “You’re back! How was the Moon?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh.” She wrinkled her nose. “Reeks of hive. Haunted. Usual business.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing on the Pyramid?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jadyn shook her head, shuddering at the nightmarish experience she had venturing inside the ominous ship buried under the depths of the Moon. “No. Nothing yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well it’s good to see you back. What’s going on?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Um...are you wanting to help with the Guardian Games?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh...heh.” Ailsa half laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re onboard to try and make a difference.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hunters are in first place today, but it’s mainly a show that we’re still here and all. Tomorrow, I bet Titans are going to top the leaderboards.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why’s that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, all the ghosts belonging to hunters have overheard on the GGN that it’s a ploy on their part to find the next Hunter Vanguard.” Her own ghost appeared in her hand, a single orb surrounded by multiple rotating silver rings at different speeds and direction. “After Gyro told me about it, I decided not to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The GGN, or Ghost Gossiping Network was a private channel that only guardians’ ghosts could use. One of the biggest hotspots for ghosts to privately talk about their guardians to one another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what? You’re going to F-Rida?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ailsa nodded. “Just until it’s over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well with all these other hunters opting out, where’s our participation?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well do you want to be a top consideration for Hunter Vanguard?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Hunter Vanguard position had been vacant for nearly two years as both Titan Vanguard Commander Zavala and Warlock Vanguard Ikora Rey seemed to be in no rush to find a replacement for the deceased Cayde-6. Jadyn had known him for her entire career as a guardian, the smooth-talking, jokester and energetic exo had taken her under his wing as a mentor and she had considered him a close friend. When he had unexpectedly found himself cornered and shot dead by Prince Uldren Sov, she had led her fellow hunters in her fireteam in a lustful quest across the Reef to avenge his murder.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Does this? No...I don’t want to be the next Hunter Vanguard.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And it was a common superstition among hunters that the position was cursed and the Vanguard Dare was a concept that had come up from the very first one where he or she would pass the title onto someone they deemed. With Cayde not naming an apparent successor, it was only a matter of time before the Vanguard ended up promoting someone likely against their will to fill the role.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, lay low, chat with the people. It’s also gator season,” She thumbed to the lightweight bow strapped to her back. “You’re more than welcome to come. I know you like fried tail.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Is a command post really making us hunters chicken out?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, but I can’t just stand by and see the warlocks and titans make us look bad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Suit yourself.” Ailsa said before her ghost transmatted her inside her jumpship. “You know where to find me.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>With Ailsa refusing to partake in the games, Jadyn headed for the residence of the other hunter in her fireteam. Marcus lived at an apartment on the top of the wall, but a ways away from the main tower and the rest of her team.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She already knew in her head how he was going to react. He particularly didn’t like being taken away from his hobby, but ever since he joined her on the crusade through the Tangled Shore and Dreaming City to avenge Cayde-6’s death, he had become increasingly distant from everyone else. A lot of the time he spent was in his workshop, applying shader synths to weapons and armor to guardian requests. Applying them could be as easy as having a ghost do it, but he had a knack for making work that was much higher quality than anyone had seen. Marcus had always been a “do-it-yourself” kind of person. He despised being handicapped from doing something if it meant he couldn’t finish it himself or learn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His workshop was in a garage right next to his residence and she briskly headed over, stopping by to wave at other vendors and guardians who all wished her a Happy Guardian Games. Even some hunters were in the spirit, despite the fact they rarely stopped to talk much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was one hunter she did recognize leaving as she approached.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi Max.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maximilian Ross or Max for short was one of the newer faces to the Tower, having emerged as a guardian on the climax of the Red War. Jadyn had heard his story circulate around the Tower on how he was a rare instance of becoming a guardian without actually dying. It had healed his persistent medical sickness and through a harrowing duel with a rogue hunter in the middle of the Vanguard’s attempt to retake the City, he had finally embraced it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now he was one of the new generation of Iron Lords...just like her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them had struck up a friendship when they had been assigned to organize Tower logistics together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max was her height, a pale skinned human with dirty blond hair and growing stubble. His armor was more ornate than hers, decorated in green and gold trim.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh uh hey Jadyn.” Max’s face went red for a second. “Good to see you again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah likewise. You in town again for the Guardian Games?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Guardian Games? Well...I guess. I’ve been participating, if that’s what you mean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m not at this moment.” That caused Jadyn to giggle a little bit, adding to the red tint on Max’s cheeks. “But I came to see Marcus after I got an idea of how to make Crimson look better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Crimson was a previously forbidden Vanguard weapon, but since Max reported directly to Lord Saladin, he was permitted to use it. Partially wanting to get rid of the worse memories it had when he was first bonded with his ghost Zero, he sought to fix its bloodstained appearance. And since, the burst-fire hand cannon had been his signature weapon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take a look. He does a fantastic job!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah he does. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jadyn watched him open the case, remembering the last time she saw Crimson as a pasty white and silver revolver that had a crude dagger attached to the bottom of the barrel. The front of it had been permanently stained in blood of various species, owing to the weapon’s name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now it looked like a completely new gun. Marcus had changed the casing entirely, giving it a sterling silver plate and an ivory colored handle that had fit Max’s hand perfectly as if it were an extension of his own arm. He had carefully engraved a fantastic design in the frame and much of the lining from the sight to the edges of the barrel were coated in a white gold. Additionally, the chipped and broken blade on the underbarrel had been taken out, replaced with a knife that had the same design of the weapon. This one looked much stronger and better overall quality than the previous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow.” She hefted it out, seeing that he had tuned its lightweave perfectly to fit Max. As she held the grip, it felt rock steady, but something was just a little off. It was done this way to further personalize each guardian’s weapons that were custom made. It would tune perfectly to their style of gunfighting to that particular guardian and feel different, but still functional to another user. She saw the bottom of the weapon’s grip had his signature seal; a spinning arc staff beside his initials.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Max, this is amazing! You’ve got a really awesome weapon! I love the knife!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heh,” He scratched the back of his head, taking it back and putting it in the case again. “Well you do too. After all, you carry the Ace of Spades. Marcus was pretty livid about that knife. Called it mall ninja shit and basically said that was going to be the first thing he’d attack when reworking Crimson. I’ve tried it at the range and it feels so much better too!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll have to let me try it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I will. See you at the range sometime? I’d like to try Ace.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jadyn patted her signature weapon on her right thigh holster. “Yeah! Let’s do it sometime!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay! I’ll uh...see you around? I guess?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She waved him goodbye and hummed happily to herself as she opened the door to Marcus’ workshop, entering the unlock code on the pad next to the garage door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Epic music was playing through the speakers as she walked through the three gunsmith tables, which had various equipment strewn about. Racks of guns lined one side of the wall next to a portable forge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marcus was a head taller than her with a lean, acrobatic frame with a shaved face, piercing brown eyes and a dark haired mohawk that ran down the center of his head. He was out of armor and had his usual scowl on when he turned around to see her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh it’s you.” His snark made her want to roll her eyes. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello to you too Marcus.” She crossed her arms over her chest and went over to his side where he was in the middle of prying off old case plating from a SUROS rocket launcher.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just work. Can’t get behind with all these people wanting custom shaderjobs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Care for a break?” She asked him. “Maybe help a girl out on winning medals for the Guardian Games?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh you’re into that? Did Ailsa leave already?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What? How did he know that?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well...yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmph. Well I’m kind of busy now. Maybe later?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s been weeks since you’ve left the Tower Marcus. When was the last time you actually went out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t been keeping track. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m busy with other shit. And there’s no way in hell I’m going to be the next Hunter Vanguard because I decided to compete in this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hunters are way ahead.” She persisted. “We can make a difference! You and me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on Marcus. It will be fun!” His ghost Onyx floated in front of her guardian. “Jadyn’s right. You need to go outside!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marcus sighed, grunting and finally stripping the case plating from the rocket launcher. If hunters were ahead, why not add to their lead? “Ugh...what the hell? Why not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He glared at her. “One medal. That’s it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great!” Her bubbly enthusiasm was something he didn’t particularly need this early in the morning. “You won’t regret it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I already did.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>It took Marcus five minutes to get his armor on and walk out with what he deemed was an acceptable setup before they both headed for the hangar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” he actually broke the silence between them in a surprise. “What’s up with you and Max?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Max! He’s a really nice friend. We ended up being on supply duty together and it turns out we have a lot in common!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow, not hearing her talk so fondly about someone outside their team.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” She smiled at him. “I saw the work you did on his Crimson. That was really well done and thought out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You like that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I do! You do the best work!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh well...thanks. He kind of wanted to get rid of those bad memories he had when he initially picked Crimson up, so giving it a brand new look was a big reason I took out that bloodstained part and replaced it with all that sterling silver and engraving. It took me and Onyx almost a full day of work just to get the pattern right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But Max and I might meet up at the firing range to test it out. I even told him he could try out using Ace!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marcus glanced at her again and she couldn’t tell if he was happy or irritated she had said that.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She never lets anyone else use Ace.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Must be a special guy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Marcus! Max is just a really good friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” Despite the short interaction they had when trying to redesign Crimson’s aesthetics, he found the young guardian to be quite a likable character. He wondered if she found him handsome or something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They reached the Tower courtyard and browsed the rows of medals being offered ranging from crucible, gambit to completing bounties. Marcus looked a little less tense, but picked the same things she did to both complete them at the same time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I uh hope Storm doesn’t notice us trying to do this.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>They picked a quick patrol in the EDZ, managing to complete their medals and bounties within a couple of hours.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marcus actually started to have fun. He smiled, something she rarely ever saw him do. Part of the way she kept them entertained was to see who could harvest 15 shards of dusklight crystals first. She had claimed ten before he already gloated to her that he was finished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before long, they were both headed right back to the Tower as the next day began. It was a longer flight, so they opted to sleep in their bunks while their ghosts piloted the long way around a storm that was brewing between them and the City.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they landed and walked to the Tower courtyard, they saw a big drastic change in the banners. The titan one had surged ahead, almost twice as tall as the warlock one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the hunter one was barely visible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Marcus shook his head as they slammed their medals into the depository. “Damn I guess the hunter absence is really being felt around here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me about it.” Jadyn’s heart sank when she saw how badly they were losing. “And now we’ll be hearing titan master race for the next month.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hopefully it falls on deaf ears. Titans may win it now, but truth is hunters don’t give a shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their conversation was interrupted by a titan approaching them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no.” Jadyn elbowed Marcus’ side. “Dad’s coming.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The exo Storm-12 was their fireteam leader. Well reserved with a dry wit, he was still a bit of a mystery to his compatriots despite recruiting them all onto his team. He gazed at them through dark blue receptacle eyes and stretched his bulky frame.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah Marcus, I haven’t seen you in quite a while.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah someone practically dragged me out of the workshop to do this stupid thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well good on you.” Storm said. “Now what are you going to do about your beard? That’s hanging on the fringe of being outside regulations.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!” Marcus subconsciously reached up to his chin. “I don’t believe that. Why are you here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To deposit my medals.” Both hunters gasped when they saw that Storm had accomplished three times as much as they had that day. “Once I get these, I’m going for more. It will be worth it to prove that the titans are the master race.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh this master race bullshit again.” Jadyn groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And yes, once we win, I’ll be having Bones inform you all every day for the next month in a place where we can’t be shut out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wouldn’t do that.” Marcus said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to take that chance? If not, then you better beat me to it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s bluffing.” Marcus declared once Storm was off again. “No way he would do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s a titan.” She corrected him. “Titans will do anything to brag and boost those egos. In a way, all of us do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Agreed.” Solomon said. “Now do we want him to have the last laugh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Both hunters said, jogging up to the medal depository to see what they could accomplish next.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe this isn’t so bad after all.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>